Star was murdered in September 2020 at the age of 16 months by her mother’s partner, Savannah Brockhill, who is serving a life sentence of at least 25 years for her murder.
His mother, Frankie Smith, was convicted of causing or allowing the boy’s death.
The way child protection is approached in England must “fundamentally change”, the Child Protection Practices Review Panel said, after publishing its long-awaited review.
Their national review found that the fatal abuses suffered by six-year-old Arthur and 16-month-old Star are “not isolated incidents” but rather reflect broader problems with poor information sharing and weak decision-making.
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Concerns raised by their extended family members were “too often” ignored and not properly investigated by police and social workers, according to the review.
Professionals increasingly steered clear of perpetrators of abuse, the report also found.
Countess Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: “The murders of Star and Arthur were truly horrific and should not have happened. On behalf of the council, I want to apologize to Star’s family that the signs were missed and we didn’t take the action we should have.
“At Bradford, we are fully committed to implementing the findings of this review so that those working to protect our children can do so in the most effective way possible.”
The review recommends that dedicated multi-agency teams made up of experienced child protection professionals be established in each local authority area to investigate allegations of serious harm to children.
And the government should establish a national child protection board to better coordinate child protection policy.
The Child Protection Review was commissioned in December 2021 by Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi following the deaths of Arthur and Star to see what could be done to prevent things from going so “terribly wrong” in the future.
For Star, the explanation that a family member’s concern might have been malicious and rooted in a dislike for her mother’s same-sex relationship was “too easily accepted,” she found.
The review found Bradford’s children’s social care service to be “in crisis” in 2020, with a high turnover of social workers and a high volume of work affecting quality and contributing to assessments that were “too superficial” and did not address the repeated concerns of the family. members
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Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-05-26 03:01:04